The below post is from my very own boss, Mr. Amol Tembe. He had the pleasure of coming to our eTail West 2013 conference in Palm Springs last week, and he was thrilled to have made the trip. (We think he should be at every eTail event, but alas, not all of us can be everywhere always!) Here’s a few of his favorite quotes from the sessions he sat in on.

Let me just say that attending eTail West for the first time was a total inspiration. I was talking all kinds of shop with all kinds of people, and I had a wonderful time doing so. As a marketing director of a B2B company, the following 14 comments and tips really caught my attention. I am eager to apply these principles as soon as I can. I hope you find them as compelling as I do and are excited to get them into action.

1. “Marketing drives business.”

2. “People want information, not data. Present information in a useful way.”

3. “Eighty-six percent of customers say they will pay more for a better customer experience.”

4. “Your website is your brand.”

– Mark Evans, Director Ideation, Creative and Cross Media Publishing, United Stationers

5. “Engagement and sentiment is a means to an end. If engagement is up 50% and sales are also down 20%, you’re out of a job.”

6. “Simply put, your competing not just with competitors, but with EVERYONE and EVERYTHING for your customer’s attention.”

– Brian Walker, Former VP and Principle Analyst, Forrester

7. “Businesses have been built on referrals!”

8. “We make great products that customers love, and if we can do this, everything else just works out.”

– Leigh Rawdon, CEO/Co-Founder, Tea Collection

9. “Recognize the differences in your teams. Creatives need attention, they are sensitive; let them design, and praise them for it.”

10. “You must plan. What is the plan, and how did you do relative to the plan?”

– Ryan Villiers, Director, Enterprise Brand Experience, Guitar Center

11. “Watch out for analysis paralysis. Watch the overwhelming-ness of big data and where to start, it’s about little data!”

12. “Fifty percent of learners are visual. Use more infographics and videos to show your product.”

13. “B2B is the next generation of e-commerce.”

– Stephanie Pike, VP eCommerce, Office Depot

14. “People who show up to your site are expecting your brand!”

– Andrew Bakony, Former Head of Global Ecommerce Analytics, HP